I'll Always Protect You
by iheartgod175
Summary: A nightmare brings up one of Red's worst fears, but Whyatt assures her that there's nothing to worry about. Whyatt/Red fluff. Contains spoilers for SRBA.


**A/N:** Before I begin, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me the inspiration for this story, but also, for helping me through the dark times. You alone deserve all the glory! Amen.

Man, it's been _forever_ since I've written a short story, hasn't it? Especially for _Super Why_ , of all things.

Anyway, SUPER sorry I've been gone for so long. Work and real life have really put a damper on writing, but I'm doing my best to come back to it (even if it feels like wrestling with a bear most of the time). And slowly but surely, I'm starting to get into the mood for writing again, thank goodness :)

And since I've been watching it a little more often on my days off, here's a short _Super Why_ fic that's part of my _SRBA Gaiden_ series. I mainly wrote it because after writing the third chapter of _Darkness Rewrite,_ I was in the mood to write some Whyatt/Red fluff. For time reference, this short story takes place before the events of _Darkness Rewrite_ , where the Super Readers (sans Woofster) are living out their normal lives after the events of the first story.

Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I think stories like this are the reason I don't own _Super Why..._

* * *

 **Super Readers' Biggest Adventure: Gaiden**

 **I'll Always Protect You**

 _"WONDER RED!"_

 _She was already falling by the time everyone's shouts reached her, the abyss racing to meet her. The terror she'd been fighting forced its way through her throat, her arms flailing as she blindly, desperately reached out for something that could stop her fall._

 _By some miracle, she caught hold of an opening on the side of the canyon. She struggled to keep on, but the sounds of falling rocks reached her ears, and several barely missed her head. Even worse, her fingers were slipping…_

 _"Hang on, Wonder Red! I'm coming!"_

 _Relief was quickly ripped away from her, for her fingers lost purchase, and she was at gravity's mercy once more. A boulder the size of a car came barreling towards her, and she screamed again, covering her eyes_

 _It was then that she felt a forceful shove to her left, and she quickly uncovered her eyes just in time to see the face of the rock wall race at her. She hit her head against the rock, sending stars into her vision for a second. But she somehow managed to seize an opening, and she dug her nails into the rock with enough force to break the skin underneath. Over the pounding in her head, she heard Super Why scream, and the sound sent ice in her veins. A series of loud thuds followed by a groan filled her ears as the rocks that had been sailing overhead hit the bottom._

 _Shaking the stars out of her vision, Wonder Red turned around to see where he was, looking all over, her heart in her throat as she looked down. "Super Why?!" she shouted, her voice cracking from worry._

 _No answer. Her heart hammered even faster._ Oh no…please be OK…you've _gotta_ be okay, Whyatt!

 _She finally found him pinned under the boulder that had nearly crushed her. His face was turned away from her, but she made out a rapidly growing pool of blood from under his head. He didn't move or make a sound._

 _"Super Why?!" That was Princess Presto, in near hysterics._

 _"Super Why, are you alright?!" Alpha Pig shouted, sounding close to tears._

 _Woofster's reaction was the worst of all. "Oh no…it can't be happening again…"_

 _Woofster had watched the Evil Reader destroy his story. He had watched him create mockeries of people before his eyes, and monsters that would give even the most iron-blooded superhero nightmares. He'd watched people die, from accidents or from the Evil Reader's creations._

 _The realization hit her like a truck, causing her skin to go clammy. She almost let go of the wall out of panic._

 _If she hadn't tried to leave…if she hadn't doubted Woofster's words…he wouldn't have had to save her. He wouldn't have had to die to save her._

 _He was dead because of her. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that she could do about it._

 _Terror filling her soul, she let out all her emotions in one scream:_

 _"WHYATT!"_

* * *

Red burst out of sleep choking on a scream. When she saw that she was back in her room, she relaxed, but only for a second. "W-What was that…?" she said aloud. She rubbed her face, and as her hands came away wet, the fear and guilt came flooding back in a rush. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry—softly at first, but then grew louder as the minutes passed.

She couldn't help but shriek upon hearing a hurried knock on her door. "Red? Red, dear, are you alright?" her grandmother asked.

"G-Grandma?" Red said, wincing as the door opened and light flooded into her room.

Her grandma stood there, dressed in her nightgown, her hair covered by a green cap. Her grey eyes were filled with concern as she looked down at her. "Red, honey…are you okay?" she said.

"G-G-Grandma!" Red cried out, getting out of bed and running over to her. She wanted to tell her everything, but she found that she could only cry instead.

Immediately, her grandmother returned the embrace. She didn't immediately pry and start asking questions, but simply smoothed her hair down to calm her. "It's okay, sweetie," she said softly. "It's going to be okay."

Ten minutes later, Grandma asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Red nodded quietly, and her grandmother led her back to her bed. Red stared down at her hands, which were knotted together and moist from her tears.

"It was that bad of a nightmare, huh?" Grandma asked.

"I-It was terrible, Grandma…" She sniffled. "Y-You know how we told you about how we traveled through the books the Evil Reader ruined so we c-could save you guys?"

"Yes, I do remember something about that," Grandma said. She still couldn't believe that her daughter had been a superhero this entire time, but nevertheless was proud of her for saving the world as they knew it. "You four were in terrible shape afterwards."

"Y-Yeah…well, when we went to The Three Little Pigs, I-I…I almost died, Grandma. I-I tried to leave everyone, but there was an earthquake and the ground split open, and I fell into the ditch…"

"Good heavens, that's terrible!"

"T-The only reason I'm still here is because of Whyatt. He saved my life," she said. "B-But in my nightmare…h-he pushed me out of the way, b-but he…he got hit b-by the boulder instead…!"

Her grandmother held her tighter. "Oh, sweetie…"

"H-He could've gotten hurt instead of me that day," she said quietly. "H-He could've…" She swallowed the last word. Died. Whyatt could've died back there. No, she was not going to think about that, not now or ever.

"And that scared you most of all, didn't it?" Grandma Clem asked.

Red nodded, and sniffled. "What should I do?"

"Well, have you talked to Whyatt about this?"

"He'd freak out if I told him this," she said quietly, her fingers working about nervously.

"Hearing something like that would scare anyone. But I think that he'd understand," Grandma Clem replied.

"Y-You do?"

She nodded. "You bet. You all went through the same things on your adventures," she replied. "If anybody would understand it, it's him." She put a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "Talk to him tomorrow and let him know how you feel about it. I have a feeling that he'll help you out a little better than I can."

"H-How…?"

"Well, I'm not the one who likes him after all," she replied.

"Oh…right," she replied, a small smile creeping on her face. She sighed, and then gave her grandmother a hug. "Thanks, Grandma. I needed that."

"I bet you did," Grandma replied. Releasing her, she said, "Now, how about I make you some hot cocoa? That should help you relax a bit."

Red nodded, already feeling leagues better. "Yes, please!"

* * *

 _The next morning…_

Red yawned as she walked across the bridge to the schoolhouse. Although her grandma's hot cocoa had helped her fall asleep, she still felt like she didn't get enough of it. Nightmares had chased her into the morning. Her friends had replaced Whyatt in those nightmares. Even worse, they would fall trying to stop her, and Super Why would try to save them all, only to die again…and again…and again-

"Hey, Red!"

She paused, and spun around to face Whyatt, who was running over to her with his books in hand, waving to her in greeting. Seeing him first thing in the morning usually made her happy, but when she looked at him, all she could see was how he'd looked in her nightmare…battered, bloody and bruised all over.

Fear gripped her, stealing her voice.

The smile faded from Whyatt's face as he came to a stop in front of her. "R-Red…? Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

Her face twisted, and she felt heat flood her ears from embarrassment. Great, it's gotten so bad she's starting to cry…

"Red, is everything- _oof_!" Whyatt's question was cut off when she quickly tackled him into a hug. His books clattered against the stone path, spilling out of the tie and falling into a small puddle. That was nothing, though, for the brunette was starting to shudder against him.

Now he was really concerned. "Whoa, Red, what's the matter?" he asked.

"I-I…I'm sorry…"

"What do you have to be sorry for?" he said.

"I'm making you worried about me first thing in the morning," she replied, letting him go. "W-We should just get to class."

"Not yet," Whyatt replied, holding onto her hand. She looked up at the olive-skinned boy, and was startled by how serious he looked. Seeing her fearful look, he let go of her hand, and his look softened, but just a little. "Red, what's going on?"

Without missing a beat, she told him about her nightmare, leaving out no details. When she was finished, his eyes had widened in horror.

"That is scary," he remarked. "I'm sorry that you had that nightmare, but thankfully it's just that."

"I know. But I still feel guilty," Red said. "I could've gotten you killed back there, Whyatt, with what I did. A-And that…that scares me most of all. I don't want to lose you because of my mistakes…"

His hand took hers again, gently this time. When she looked up at him, she saw the seriousness in his blue eyes. "W-Whyatt?"

"Red…I'm not mad at you for what you did back then. You just did what you always do: running into things without thinking."

She frowned. _This_ was his way of understanding? "Yeah…Muse kinda ripped into me for that…"

"But," he started, bringing her attention back to him, "no matter what you get yourself into, I'll always be there to get you out of it. I'll always protect you, no matter what." He gave her a confident smile. "So you don't have to feel guilty about it anymore, or worry about losing me."

"…Thanks, Why," she replied.

"You're welcome," he said, giving her a confident smile.

"No, really…" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled away from him and looked up at him with a shy smile, her face growing warm. "Thanks. I needed that."

Whyatt's face went as red as her hoodie, his blue eyes wider than tacks. Right as he stammered out a "N-No problem", another voice made its presence known.

"Whyatt, Red, if you don't hurry, you're going to be late for class!" Princess Pea was walking up the path with Pig, her lunchbox in hand.

That warmth on Red's face now became an inferno. Whyatt, though, had gone stop sign red. "H-Hey, we should-"

"Oh yeah!" Whyatt hurried over and grabbed his books, hurriedly folding them under his arm and stuffing the wet tie in his pocket. His flustered reaction was too adorable, and she bit back a giggle. "I just remembered we have a test today! We can't be late for that!"

Whyatt led Red across the bridge, red and with shy grins on their faces, and attracting the attention of several students. Little Boy Blue muttered, "Geez, what's gotten into them first thing this morning?"

Pig and Princess Pea, who were following behind, could only shake their heads in amusement.

 **The End**

* * *

 _ **Well, it's short, sweet and to the point. I haven't written Super Why fics in a long time (and it kinda shows here), but I do hope that I did the characters justice, especially Red.**_ _ **While I like all of the Super Readers, Red's my favorite of the group, and I wanted to show that she does have a vulnerable side under her tomboyish, "doesn't take stuff from anybody" image, especially around Whyatt.**_

 _ **Recently, I've been writing fics where characters feel guilty for something that caused their loved one to get hurt, only for that person to forgive them later. I dunno, I guess I'm a sucker for that stuff ^^ The inspiration came from chapter 8 of the original fic where Red almost got herself killed walking away from the group (she didn't believe Woofster and dismissed his story as ridiculous), and Super Why had to come save her; it's also one of the Whyatt/Red teases in the story, too. Given how she is in this series, I figured she would have some guilt about almost getting her boyfriend killed because of something she did. Nice to know that Whyatt would do what he can to protect her.**_

 _ **And yeah, I headcanoned that Red would call Whyatt by his nickname a lot more often since they're together. Ain't that cute? :D**_

 _ **Perhaps this story will get me to write some more of Darkness Rewrite; I do have more ideas for the fourth chapter, which I just need to remind myself to sit down and write...**_

 _ **Anyways, that's it for this story! Reviews are most welcome!**_

 _ **God bless, iheartgod175**_


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